This invention relates generally to basketball nets and more particularly to an adjustable basketball net that can be quickly attached and detached to a basketball rim.
Conventional basketball nets have an inverted conical shape and are attached to brackets welded onto the basketball rim. Depending upon the direction in which a basketball travels through the rim, the basketball can exist through the bottom of the net at different angles. For example, basketballs falling straight down through the center of the rim fall vertically downward when exiting the net. Alternatively, if the basketball falls through the rim slightly off-center, the basketball may touch the rim before falling through the net. The basketball can then bounce forward, backward, to the left, or to the right after falling through the net.
If the basketball constantly exits the basketball net at different angles, a basketball player must continuously retrieve the basketball from different locations after shooting the basketball. If the basketball player is shooting alone, additional time is, therefore, required to retrieve the ball reducing the number of shots that can be taken in a given amount of time.
Further, outdoor basketball courts are often located next to hills, streams, and other undesirable locations where the basketball may bounce after traveling through the basketball net. If the basketball continuously rolls down a hill after falling through the net, additional time must be spent retrieving the basketball, deterring from the overall enjoyment of the basketball game.
Many systems have been developed for controlling the direction that a basketball bounces after being shot through a basketball rim. U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,368 to Luebkeman and U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,289 to Kotlarz both describe rigid metal rails held at an angle below a rim by either chains or straps. The ball after passing through the basketball rim, falls onto the rail returning out a front opening in the net. The metal rails, however, are dangerous since a player can strike his hands on the rails while driving to the basket. Thus, both the systems in Kotlarz and Luebkeman can not be used in a normal basketball game.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,101 to Farkas, Jr. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,814 to Manning describe rotatable chute members that are attached by mechanical attachment assemblies to the basketball rim. Again, a basketball player can easily strike the rigid attachment assemblies while shooting around the rim. Thus, neither system is appropriate for use in a basketball game.
Both the systems in Farkas, Jr. and Manning return the ball at the same vertical angle and speed. However, it is often desirable to return the ball at a different angle or speed depending upon where the shot is taken. For example, if the ball is shot close to the rim, it may be more desirable for the ball to exit the net in a more horizontal direction. Alternatively, if the shot is taken further away from the rim, it may be desireable to have the basketball exit the net at a more vertically directed angle to maintain sufficient speed to return to the shooter.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,368 to Qualley describes a basketball net that includes a continuous strip of Velcro.TM. that wraps around a rim. While Velcro is easy to attach, it cannot be attached around an exiting basketball net. For example, the loops in a conventional net will be sandwiched between the hook and eye portions of the Velcro making the strength of the attachment weaker. Thus, an existing net must first be removed before the net in Qualley can be installed.
Accordingly, a need remains for an easy to install basketball net that can be adjusted to vary the direction and speed of a returning basketball while at the same time remain flexible enough for use during a standard basketball game.